Strong 6.8 earthquake hits off Papua New Guinea

Sydney: A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit off the Papua New Guinea coast early Friday, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage. The quake struck at 3:39 am local time (1739 GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) about 20 kilometres offshore of the New Ireland town of Taron.

According to reports, the epicentre was more than 800 kilometres east of the 7.5-magnitude quake that hit the highlands region of the Pacific nation on February 26, killing at least 67 people.